Not in Kansas Anymore
by jennaravenrose
Summary: Loki's plans were simple get the Tesseract and take over the earth. He just wasn't counting on her.
1. Chapter 1

Not in Kansas anymore

She stacked the last crate of empty beer bottles on the shelf. Janice would have Tom take them to the recycling place on Tuesday. She drudged back up the stairs and out of the small basement. The season was over which meant she would have to go back to her off season job in the city. She really wished the place was open longer than the ride season but with the weird weather they had during the winter an open air venue like hog heaven was just ill advised at best.

She walked across the main bar area and into the small office in the back. She retrieved her purse and helmet. Seth was still talking on the phone so he simply held up her paycheck. She sighed and took it from his hand. She would miss this place for the next few months, while she poured lattes for college students instead of shots for bikers. She shoved the check into her purse and headed out of the door.

"Gin?" said Seth

She turned.

"They're already to go, if you need anything else give me a call" said Gin

"Thanks, see you in a few months?" said Seth

She nodded yes towards the man, gave a short wave and walked out the door. She crossed the bar floor again and exited through the huge sliding barn doors at one end. Walked down the short flight of stairs and across the audience area in front of the small stage. She exited out the side gate waved to the security guard as she passed him. The sky was dark and the wind was picking up. The weather man had predicted storms tonight and from the dark rolling clouds he was more than right.

She was pulling on her helmet as she crossed the parking lot. When she reached her bike she stowed her purse in the saddle bag, flung her leg over the seat and kick started her bike.

A minute later she was roaring down the highway and back to the small town she lived in, Twenty miles down from the Teton dam in the town of Wilford. She pulled up to her apartment just as her cell phone rang. She fished it out of her purse in the saddlebag and answered it on the last ring.

"what? I just got home" said Gin

"Well then hurry we'll be by in twenty minutes" said Tara.

Gin was pulling the saddlebag off as she talked and then walking towards her front door.

"I know, I just got off work. Just give me time to change, all right see you then" said Gin

She unlocked her door and walked inside, flipping on her lights as she did so. She headed for her room stripping off her work uniform as she walked. She dropped her helmet on her couch and toed off her shoes by the door. So by the time she reached her bathroom she was nude. She turned on the shower and quickly hopped inside. She washed her hair and rinsed the days sweat from her body before stepping out and heading back into the room. This time wrapped in a towel. She pulled undergarments out of her dresser and quickly put them on as she was reaching into her closet for her clothes.

She pulled out the short jean skirt a tank and a checked shirt for over it. As a lark she pulled on her cowboy boots and grabbed her hat.

She switched her wallet and check into a blue jean purse, shoved her phone inside just as her friends pulled up outside and honked. Gin headed for her front door with her keys in her hand. She locked her front door and headed down her walkway to her friend's Volkswagen. Jade stepped out and pulled back the seat so Gin could climb in the back seat.

"We need to hit the bank so I can put in my check" said Gin

Tara nodded in understanding as jade climbed back inside. Tara and jade both worked at the hog as waitresses and were Gin's few friends. She wasn't the type to really bond with other women, so the few she did call friends she kept in touch with. Tonight they were heading into the city for a chance to blow off some steam before they all went their separate ways for the season. They would be back next season because they were regulars like Gin but it would be awhile before they saw each other again.

The sky was steadily growing darker and quite a bit ominous. Halfway to the city it started to rain, so Jade was lamenting her lack of jacket by the time they pulled into the bank's parking lot. Gin hurried from the car and up to the atm machine.

She quickly signed the back of her check, shoved it into an envelope and inserted her card into the machine. She followed the prompts to deposit it and got cash back. She exited the atm cover and headed across the parking lot that the bank shared with the grocery store. The wind was blowing quite hard and lightning was dancing across the sky in the distance.

She paused to snap a quick pick of a particularly beautiful display of multiple strikes. Then she almost dropped her phone when the wind blew a cart across the parking lot and into a light pole. She turned to see where it went and froze. The clouds in the distance resembled a boiling mass of black except for in the center, which looked like a funnel. Her eyes widened in horror because it looked just like a tornado funnel. Another cart blew across the lot and this time almost hit her. Gin raised her phone and took a picture just as lightning lit up the funnel from within with an eerie blue light.

She slowly lowered it were her eyes deceiving her or was that funnel coming this way.

The wind suddenly got stronger so gin turned tail and ran for the car. The weather was no longer just an inconvenience now it was downright scary. She was halfway to it when lightning struck one of the light poles in the lot right near the car. The pole swayed and jade quickly put the car into gear. The car lurched forward out of the way of the now falling pole, just in time.

Gin started for the car again because now it was farther away and the wind was so hard she was having difficulty staying on her feet. Lightning struck the ground a few feet from the car and then danced across the parking lot. Her friends screamed in terror. She took a few more steps, trying to fight her way to car. Then suddenly something hit her legs hard enough to knock her off her feet. She felt like she was being lifted so she grabbed for the only thing within reach of her fingers, a concrete car stop. She screamed and over the howl of the wind she could hear her friends screaming her name. One of her nails broke off as the wind dragged her fingers across the concrete and the short stab of pain caused her to lose her grip. She was pulled screaming up into the clouds as lightning danced across where she had just been. She was still screaming as she was thrown around by the wind. Something smacked her upside the head and everything went black.

When she came to she was falling, rather quickly. She screamed again just as the ground came into view. She slammed into the ground hard enough to leave a small crater. Everything hurt, literally every inch of her was in agony. She coughed weakly and felt something metallic in her mouth, then mercifully passed out again. When she woke she heard voices and vaguely registered she was being strapped to a board by what looked like paramedics. She drifted in and out of consciousness as she was lifted out of the hole.

He frowned as he watched them lift the girl out of the rubble that had been shield's base. The tessaract had really done a job on the area and the storm it generated didn't help one bit. He popped a stick of gum into his mouth and caught Coulson's eye. So far they had dug nothing but dead bodies out of the debris until they found her. She had yet to be identified and at first they thought she might be a visitor to the base that was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. She definitely wasn't one of theirs, you could tell just by the way she was dressed. Gravel crunched next to him and he didn't need to turn to know it was Hill.

"they're taking her to mercy, do you want me to set up a guard detail?" said Hill

"Yeah until we know who she is and more importantly how she got on the base, then we will work from there" said Fury

"They found three more alive near where they found her, perhaps she's good luck whoever she is" said Hill

"I don't believe in luck" said Fury

He turned to watch them load her into the ambulance. The doors were closed and the vehicle sped away. Two more people were being loaded into the remaining ambulances. So far the death toll was just over fifty with only a dozen survivors, if you included the girl. He still wasn't sure if he should include the girl.

"Hill when you get back to the carrier run her face through the system, she has to be in there somewhere" said Fury

"Yes sir, ah?" said Hill

"Go we've got it from here" said Fury.

He looked out over the horizon to where the dark clouds were slowly dissipating. The eerie blue lightning was gone now but the clouds still looked creepy. One of the searchers pulled what looked like a small blue jean purse from the debris.

It definitely wasn't shield issue so he beaconed to the searcher.

The bag was carried up the hill to his position. He took it from the man's hands, looked it over briefly then opened it. He ignored the make-up and the tampon. The phone he would look through later. What interested him was the paper, it looked like a paycheck stub.

"Cygin Smythe. Odd name. Hog Heaven, interesting sounds like a biker bar" said Fury

He opened the rather childish wallet with the weird cat face on it. Inside he found cash, a motorcycle license and an atm card from a bank he didn't recognize the name of. The picture on the license looked an awful lot like their mystery woman. He tapped his earpiece.

"Hill?" said Fury

"yes sir?" said Hill

"Run a search for a Cygin Smythe, address 221 Baker apt B Wilford, Idaho. I believe it is our mystery woman. Also look up a Hog heaven and a bank named wells Fargo" said Fury

"Wells Fargo? Okay?" said Hill

He heard typing

"So far nothing either under the name or facial. The town no longer exists, hasn't for about twenty years, got wiped out by a flood after the dam burst and there is no such bank by that name anywhere in the United States or elsewhere for that matter" said Hill

Fury frowned that wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"review the offsite footage up until they go off line, see if the cameras picked her up and double the security detail. She doesn't leave that hospital until we know who she is, and what she was doing at our base" said Fury

"Will do, I'll call you if I find anything" said Hill


	2. Chapter 2

Kansas 2

Four days later Hill finally had an answer. The doctors had informed Fury that the young woman wasn't about to go anywhere for a while. She had a mass of broken bones and according to the doctors was lucky to even still be breathing. Fury was making plans to have her transferred to shield custody as soon as the doctors said she could be moved. At the moment they were being remarkably stubborn about her care and it was simply irritating an already tense situation.

"she's in traction it's not like she can get up and walk away" said Coulson

Fury glared at him in irritation.

"So I take it you haven't figured out how she got into our facility?" said Fury

"Actually I have but you are going to have to see this to believe it" said Coulson.

He walked towards the bank of computers that hill had been using to look her up. He tapped a few keys "Do you remember me mentioning that they found gamma radiation at the site?" said Coulson

Fury nodded

"Yes if I recall some of our survivors are being treated for exposure, why" said Fury

"Well I took the opportunity to have our girl tested, she's swimming with the stuff by the way but not at levels that would affect her like Banner" said Coulson

Fury sighed in relief.

"That still doesn't explain her presence" said Fury

"Ah but it does, the artifact caused the storm and resulting incident, right?" said Coulson

Fury nodded for him to continue.

"Hill exhausted all internal searches including manual sign in, so I back tracked and checked out the external camera system and this, is what I found" said Coulson

He hit a button and the screen started to display the compound as it sat before the incident. Then the sky grew gradually dark and they could clearly see the funnel cloud form, blue lightning lighting it up from within. Coulson suddenly hit pause just as the explosion rippled across the ground.

"There see right there" said Coulson

He pointed to a small shape on the screen. Fury squinted at the small image trying to decipher what it was. Coulson hit zoom and suddenly you could tell it was a person in freefall coming from inside the funnel. Fury stared at the image in shock.

"Is that?" said Fury

"Yep that is our mystery girl and if you notice she hits the ground a few seconds after the explosion, of course we lose the cameras before that, but given speed of descent…" said Coulson

Fury frowned at the screen, something else had caught his eye.

"What is this?" said Fury

He pointed to what looked like a bubble surrounding the girl, a bubble that encompassed some of the survivors.

"We're not sure if the artifact is causing it or the girl. All we know is the gamma radiation is at its strongest in that spot, unfortunately no one here is an expert on gamma rays" said Coulson

He looked up at Fury. He could guess what Coulson was implying and already he had misgivings. Fury snapped his finger

"What about Dr… err what's his name?" said Fury

"Steven's?" said Coulson

"Yeah him" said Fury

"He was at ground zero when Loki appeared" said Hill

"Wonderful" said Fury, in a tone that implied it was anything but.

Hill walked into the room.

"I take it you showed him the footage?" said Hill

Coulson nodded.

"Heathcliff, Roseurs, Thomas and Rand are going to make it, and they have transferred the rest into our infirmary" said Hill

"What about the girl?" said Fury

"I've already made arrangements, she went into surgery this morning, so she should be in recovery by now" said Hill

"Good I want her in our infirmary by tomorrow and debriefed as soon as she is awake" said Fury

"Don't know how coherent she's going to be they have her on massive amounts of pain killers, by the way Tasha's coming in" said Hill

Fury blew out his breath in a huff.

"does she know?" said fury

"About Barton yeah I told her" said Coulson

Fury glared at him but didn't say anything more.

"What about Banner?" said Hill

Fury had started walking away, so he paused.

"Are you sure he's the only one we can call?" said Fury

"Yeah he's the only one still breathing at the moment, who can help us track the artifact and figure out why the girl is saturated in the stuff, yet not giving it off" said Coulson

Fury sighed

"Fine look for him but don't be surprised if he says no" said Fury

She moaned and blinked her eyes open, only to squint them closed again at the glare from the fluorescent lights. This place looked different from the room she had awoken in before and only marginally like a hospital. Even the equipment running into her arm looked different. Where was she? And more importantly how was she not dead? Everything ached including her head and at the same time it tingled like her limbs had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again attributing the tingling to whatever pain killers they had her on.

Natasha stared at the small cabin the boy had pointed out to her. The agents had spread out around it at her orders. She really wished Fury had just done this himself. She took a steadying breath and her hand strayed briefly to the firearm at her side. It wouldn't do her any good against the monster but its presence was a much needed reassurance. She hated that this assignment had the ability to even shake her confidence.

She reminded herself that Barton needed them to find him and started forward. The kid had gone ahead to trick Banner to the cabin so at least if he hulked out there were no civilians to worry about nearby. She calmly walked up the small staircase and knocked on his front door. She surprised herself with how calm she was acting when inside she was shaking like a leaf. The door swung open and there stood Banner. He frowned at her but still stepped back to allow her entrance.

"I should have known they wouldn't leave me alone, who is it this time?" said Banner

"Shield and we have left you alone, even kept a few others from finding you"said Natasha

She was always surprised that such an unassuming man had that much rage trapped inside of him. He snorted as if he didn't believe her, knowing his history she didn't blame him if he didn't.

"You brought me to the edge of the city, that's wise, maybe" said banner

Tasha wondered absently just how much control he actually had.

"So who are you and what do you want?" said Banner

"Natasha Romanov, and fury wants your help or rather your expert opinion" said Tasha

He must have recognized the name because he was sizing her up now.

"have you come to kill me, Miss Romanov?" he asked

She paused for a moment because even when she had been sent to kill someone they had never asked her that, it threw her somewhat

"No I'm actually here because we need your expert opinion on something" said Tasha

He snorted and she firmly resisted the urge to jump at the unexpected sound.

"Expert opinion?" said Banner

Natasha looked around choosing to ignore the skepticism in Banner's voice for a moment.

"For someone avoiding stress you sure picked a hell of a place to settle" said Natasha

"Avoiding stress isn't the secret" said Banner

"Then what is, yoga?" said Natasha

Banner chuckled.

"Why are you here Ms. Romanov" said Banner

"We are facing a global catastrophe of epic proportions and we you need to come in" said Natasha

"I always make it a habit to avoid those" said Banner

He gave her a look that plainly said he thought she was crazy

"Shield, huh? How did they find me?" said Banner

"We never lost you" said Tasha

"What if I said no?" said Banner

"Then I would persuade you" said Tasha

She sounded a bit like she was flirting and it shocked Banner for a second but he recovered quickly.

"and if the other guy says no?" said Banner in a dead serious tone.

"You've been over a year without an incident, I don't think you want to break that streak" said Tasha Banner got this sad look on his face.

"I don't always get what I want" said Banner

Tasha wasn't interested in hearing a potential pity fest. She opened the pictures on her phone and set the phone in front of Banner.

"This is the tessaract, it has the power to wipe out the planet" said Tasha.

Banner put his glasses on and picked up the phone. He stared at the tessaract for a few minutes.

"What does Fury want me to do swallow it?" said Banner

Tasha smirked ever so slightly, the doctor had a sense of humor she liked that.

"No, it's been stolen and we need you to find it, it emits a gamma signature too weak for us to trace" said Tasha

He frowned and set the phone back on the table.

"no" said Banner

He turned his back on Tasha and walked towards the door. He reached for the knob and Tasha knew that he was politely asking her to leave but she couldn't they need him, the world needed him and Clint... she just couldn't fail. But what else could she throw out there that would sway him. She glanced around and her eyes fell on his medical bag where he had discarded it by the door. She picked up her phone and scrolled through the pictures until she found one of the girl's landing.

"There's one last thing doctor" said Tasha

He glared at her in irritation and she hoped she wasn't pushing things too far.

"The tessaract caused a tornado that wiped out our base, she fell from the center of it" said Tasha

He frowned at the phone she was holding out to him but he walked away from the door to do so. He took the phone from her hand and stared at the image for a few seconds. He was acting like he didn't care, but she saw him wince when the girl would have hit the ground.

"So what does that have to do with me?" said Banner

"She was infused with gamma radiation" said Tasha

Banner sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Then she will most likely die, she has my sympathy send her a card with my name on it" said Banner Tasha was getting frustrated just what did it take to get to him.

"Actually she seems to be doing fine, as are those who were in her immediate vicinity when the incident occurred" said Tasha

He gave her a lightly surprised look then his expression darkened. She could guess what he was thinking before he said it.

"If Fury wants to put us in a cage, he'll get no help from me doing it" said Banner

Tasha sighed in irritated annoyance.

"Look doctor the signal is too soft for us to trace and the girl desperately needs your help. You are the only expert in gamma radiation we can go to" said Tasha

Banner sat down in one of the chairs and stared Tasha right in the eye.

"And if you could find it?" said Banner

"Then I would be right there wherever it is" said Tasha

"Fury doesn't want to put me into a cage?" said Banner

"Not that I am aware" said Tasha

"And I suppose he tells you everything?" said Banner

Tasha hesitated because she knew he was right, Fury kept a lot of secrets from a lot of people including her.

"Talk to Fury, he needs you on this" said Tasha

"He needs me in a cage" said Banner

"No one's going to put you in a cage..." said Tasha

She started to say but his angry retort stopped her.

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Banner yelled, his fist connected with the table in front of her.

She reacted without thinking and stood drawing her weapon as she did so. He looked more amused that she was pointing a weapon at him then afraid.

"I'm sorry that was mean, I just wanted to see what you would do" said Banner

He seemed more interested in placating her.

"Why don't we do this the easy way where you don't use that and the big guy doesn't make a mess okay" said Banner

He seemed genuinely concerned for her welfare and Tasha knew the terror must be showing in her eyes. His calm voice was having an effect on her and she gradually lowered her weapon. Her headset went off in her ear reminding her that this conversation was being monitored by Fury's people on the outside. She tapped the earpiece and quickly relayed that she was fine to the men outside, and for them to stand down. Banner chuckled

"Alone huh?" said Banner

"What happened to the trust?" said Banner

"Fury's crazy not stupid" said Tasha.

Banner had picked up the phone and hit play on the video. He could see the gamma radiation shooting through the funnel and knew he wasn't going to walk away from this, not if it meant leaving someone with the potential to become another green guy or worse an abomination in the hands of the military. "Fine I'm in, on one condition" said Banner

On impulse Tasha responded with a calm

"Name it" said Tasha

"I'm the one who treats her" said Banner


End file.
